


The Cop and the Fighter: As Fate Would Have It

by wordscavenger



Series: The Cop and the Fighter [2]
Category: Rush Hour (TV 2016)
Genre: Being a good cop, Introspective Lee, Pre-Slash, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 12:39:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12705153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordscavenger/pseuds/wordscavenger
Summary: As far as former Hong Kong Chief Detective Jonathan Lee was concerned, James Carter, current Detective with the LAPD and his new partner, was the most immature, ineffectual and indifferent cop he had ever had the displeasure of working with during his career in law enforcement. Without a doubt, it was going to take a hell of a lot of convincing to ever make him think otherwise.That...or just an unexpected incident one afternoon at a local diner.(Prequel to "The Case of the Midnight Ballerina")





	The Cop and the Fighter: As Fate Would Have It

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place not too long after the pilot of the show. Just a little something I had rattling around in my mind in between working on the next installment of this series that I plan on posting, hopefully, before the end of this month. 
> 
> Can be read as a Gen stand-alone, but I'm posting it as a prequel to my series.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

“Santiago is late for his pickup,” Lee muttered with obvious frustration as he turned from the large glass window to regard his partner sitting across from him.

Carter also turned his head, though more indifferently, from the same location Lee had just been staring at. With a familiar huff he tilted his occiput back until it softly thunked against the headrest of the cracked, dark red leather upholstery belonging to the diner booth they were sharing. He let out a long, miserable moan that ended with a grunt that measured equal to his frustration. “He ain’t coming.”

“The information is good,” Lee argued. He shifted, then sat back and picked up small coffee mug filled halfway with tepid Folgers, possibly his fourth or fifth refill, and took a sip just for the sake of doing something. On the table in front of him stains from the mug in his hand had patterned an L.A. Times crossword puzzle that sat discarded with the rest of the newspaper’s contents long ago read and reviewed.

Additionally, an array of small paper airplanes constructed from the twice read comics section and a surprisingly sturdy paper boat built with the sports recaps, using Jared Goff’s face as its figurehead, lay forgotten in front of Carter.

Boredom had long been their third booth-mate that afternoon. 

The diner they had chosen for their stake out was, according to Carter, such a stereotype they might as well be in classic Quinten Tarantino movie and, his boy Sammy L. Jackson, ought to be here holdin’ the place up any moment.

Lee only nodded placating, a move he now habitually utilizes whenever he didn’t understand a word coming out of Carter’s mouth.

Their booth was located in _Pie in the Sky_ , a small mom-and-pop located on a busy street in a part of the city without any real area code aspirations. Besides the old newspaper clippings and the ironic prints of dark green forests and snowcapped mountains that adorned the walls painted an unassuming off-white, the tables and chairs looked as clean and safe as the waitresses and fry cooks in the kitchen. Considering the layers of grime weren’t as deep as Lee had expected, he didn’t mind ordering some coffee, but decidedly refrained from indulging in anything more risky than that.

After Lee put down his coffee, barely tasting it anymore, Carter, who was plainly unconvinced by his statement, sat up straight and laid his hands along the table separating them, then shifted impatiently like a five year old during math class. “You’re just saying that cause you don’t want to be wrong.” After casting one more look out the window he shoved his hand into the left pocket of his beloved leather jacket, then pulled out his iPhone and began typing even before his elbows came to rest on the table. “Even kung fu masters can’t be right all the time.”

“My fighting skills have nothing to do with the level of truth in what someone does or does not tell me,” Lee replied. He felt his frustration at his partner growing; not for the first time that evening did he wish that he had pursued this lead alone.

Sometimes, it felt more like a year rather than less then a month since the two of them had begun their working partnership. Lee was, most of the time, grateful to have a relatively decent person on his side while barely knowing a soul on this part of the planet. Though neither of them were initially thrilled to be partnered together, Carter still stuck by him and hadn’t dumped him as a partner yet, despite their dissimilarities and the ‘little mishaps’ that lead to them getting shot on their very first case together.  

But, if he were being honest, he also wouldn’t have minded being paired with a colleague who took the job even a little bit as serious as he did.

When Carter was called to action, he would be ready to answer, but always preferred a situation that necessitated guns ablazing; or, just for the fun of getting get someone all riled, up he would turn a simple tete-a-tete unnecessarily into a full blown interrogation.   

His methods were..unorthodox, as the English saying Lee recently learnt went, and frustratingly confusing. Between allowing his cousin to continue pursing, however petty they were, criminal activities or getting angry when Lee refused to wait for what he considered a too much laid-back approach in handling a possible suspect, Lee sometimes wondered just how close to the bad-guys line Carter was toeing while supposedly still playing for the good guys.    

Back home things were handled differently. Not as always off, but when on the job Lee too often missed his homeland’s strict adherence to the rules; especially knowing where the back alleys of those rules went so he could get what he needed, when he needed it.

Here, he had to rely on Carter during those international misinterpretations, and he absolutely knew this man’s intel could often be no good.

But, until he found his sister, Lee would be spending his days working in various scenarios similar to this one: sitting in a diner along a busy street, staking out a jewelry store where a man was supposed to be selling some stolen goods that afternoon. Business related B&E’s weren’t their normal beat, but the last heist that they suspected a small, local criminal gang had pulled a week ago left a botch in the form of a dead man, possibly a criminal associate, which promptly encouraged homicide to step in.

Lee had hoped that they could close the case tonight, not just for the joy of getting another criminal off the street, but so that he could stop listening to Carter complain about how the information he had spent hours interrogating out of a suspect’s cousin wasn’t going to pay off. They had nothing else to go on though, and Lee would be happy to hear a better idea from Carter if he had one. He wasn’t holding his breath.

With a sigh Lee put down his empty coffee mug, then pulled out his own phone from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Just as he finished typing in his password, recently changed for the third time because for some reason Carter kept figuring out what it was, Carter suddenly said, “Read me the notes again.”

Another wave of frustration rippled through Lee, leaving behind a seed in his right temple that he knew would soon blossom into a headache. How Carter knew he was going to bring up the case notes annoyed him, especially when he knew Carter wasn’t focused on the case; the musical beeps and trills from his phone indicated his mind was on scoring points for his mobile game _The Walking Dead: March to War_.

Even though he knew Carter would be listening with half an ear, he read out loud the highlights of the case he had saved on his phone for reference during their investigation. “Possible suspect Santiago Martinez, previously convicted of multiple counts of larceny, B&E’s and aggravated assault. Paroled earlier this year after eighteen months at Twin Towers. During interrogation Santiago’s first cousin, Armando Martinez, states he has a romantic relationship with possible associate Rosta Perez who resides in the same neighborhood as Santiago. Base of operations considered to be Dialota’s Jewels, a possible front for a black market business dealing in local stolen merchandise.”

He glanced up at Carter and saw that he was watching him, though the iPhone, still in his hands, continued its musical distraction. The diner was beginning to become busier as people walked past them to jump start the dinner rush. He didn’t miss the waitresses at the front counter eye their table impatiently, waiting for them to vacate so they could offer it to customers who didn’t need to leave at less than a moment’s notice and would pay for more than their bottomless coffee. Lee couldn’t blame their annoyance, but he wasn’t about to suggest giving up their spot just yet.

“Rosta’s social media says she’s out of town,” Carter said, bringing Lee’s focus back onto him. “Spring break. Nothing to say that Santiago didn’t follow her. Make sure she isn’t getting down and dirty with some frat boys in Mexico.”

Lee shook his head. “His parole regulates that he cannot leave the country.”

“There are ways around it,” Carter answered, though his voice had become a little softer, and Lee saw his partner’s eyes suddenly dart to the left, looking behind him.

Before Lee could follow Carter’s gaze to catch up to what had caught his attention, the waitress who had been serving them liquid caffeine and questionable looks the majority of the afternoon appeared beside him. She and Carter had often chatted during those visits, and while Lee simply tuned them out, he knew Carter enjoyed the distraction from their monotonous situation.

“Top off?” She asked as she held up a fresh pot of Folger’s, black as a starless night, in a well-used carafe. She looked down at Carter but his mind was clearly elsewhere as he continued staring straight ahead.

Lee took a moment to look across the street where Dialota’s Jewelers was. The closed sign was still turned off, no lights had come on in the windows, and the sidewalk remained empty of any new vehicles.

He sighed before he turned back to the woman and nodded. “Please.” He would give it another half hour then call it quits. He hated to admit it out loud, but Carter might be right about Santiago’s absence.

She sighed too, her own annoyance at their continued reluctance to leave evident, but poured the coffee without complaint.

When she walked away Lee picked up the mug and enjoyed the warmth emanating from the heated porcelain more than the contents it held. He opened his mouth to share his thoughts about the timeline he had set for the rest of their stakeout, but then closed it when he quickly noticed the change that had happened to his partner while receiving a fresh refill.

“What is the matter?” Lee asked as he looked Carter up and down.

Carter’s eyes were sharp with concern, his mouth a firm line drawn in the form of simmering anger; a look Lee had never seen him display before. He was still, focused, and showed no trace of the anxious jittering that had consumed him only minutes ago.

But the biggest change, Lee had noticed, was he had put his phone down on the table. Face up, Lee could see a small series of text messages had replaced the iPhone game, but Lee was too far away to see who they were from, or what the context of the conversation being exchanged was.      

Lee suddenly remembered that something behind him had initially caught Carter’s attention, but when he turned to see what had put Carter so on guard, he couldn’t pinpoint anything unusual. A series of occupied tables matching theirs lined the glass window, looking out onto the busy street, until it reached the far end of the building. Beside the last table was a hallway that led into the restrooms and a door to, he assumed, a back office. To the left of that, more tables and more people, all sharing simple meals and private conversations.

Carter still hadn’t answered him. Lee turned back and attempted to repeat his question, but stopped when Carter suddenly slid out of the booth, his phone returning to its nest in his pocket.

“Keep an eye on the store,” Carter said, not looking at Lee. “I’ma take care of something real quick.”

Confused, Lee put down his coffee and ignored Carter’s request, instead watching him walk over to the table behind him, and then, to his great surprise, casually slide into the booth occupied by two people he didn’t recognize.

The side of the booth Carter had chosen belonged to a young black woman, possibly their age, possibly a bit younger, who was slim with a pretty face and a hairstyle he had heard Carter once described as an afro blow out. She was dressed in a navy summer dress with bright yellow paisleys and an intricate gold necklace that matched the studs in her ears.

Where there had once been annoyance, a sharp stab of fury quickly overtook Lee’s entire body. Was Carter really about to bail on their stakeout so he could hit on an attractive woman? He knew his partner could be incredibly flippant in many parts of his life, but he had thought he could at least rely on Carter enough to follow through to the bare minimum when it came to their job.

He had half a mind to just get up and leave right then, but stopped himself when he heard Carter speak, sounding jovial and uplifting. Hardly the attitude he had been displaying moments ago.

“How ya’ll doing tonight? Having a good time folks?”

A pause. Then…

“Who the hell are you?”

Lee squeezed his eyes shut when he heard the second voice. It belonged to the other customer at the table. He was a white male who was also around their age and also dressed in the same casual yet classy manner as his booth-mate; dark jeans and a tight olive grey sweater. He sounded agitated, rightfully so considering Carter’s unexpected appearance, but a flash of protectiveness softened the anger Lee felt in his chest.

Rationalizing, he figured if Carter was actually bowing out of their stakeout for the chance at a date, Lee could at least hope to watch his attempts fail spectacularly. It was a small comfort, but these days, thousands of miles from his home and the way of life he so missed, he would take what entertainment he could get.

And, despite his initial hesitation, if something dubious was going on that Lee hadn’t caught onto yet, he wanted to be by his partner’s side. He doubted it, like he doubted everything that had to do with Carter. But, Lee had seen that Carter was cop enough that being aware of something bad going down wasn’t entirely out of the realm of being possible. And, for whatever reason, he was keeping Lee out of it.

And Lee would listen. For now.

To get a better look at the situation, Lee turned fully sideways in his booth, then scooted backwards until his shoulders pressed against the glass window. He wrapped his hands around the warm coffee mug, again enjoying the warmth as it seeped into his fingers, then settled in to watch this unexpected show play through.

From this angle he got a better look at the man sitting across from Carter. Dark hair in a style he believed was called a pomp, as Didi had once called a suspect pompous and commented that his hair style fit his personality. His eyes were sharp with suspicion, more of a brown than green, and his wide mouth was twisted into a frown his partner had solely placed there. His features were set together in a way that if women generally found him attractive, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to Lee.

Lee took a sip of his coffee. Whatever this was, it had better be good.

“Who am I?” Carter finally asked and turned to the woman sitting next to him. She regarded him warily, even more so when he flashed her a comforting smile.

When Carter turned back to the man, he said, “I think the real question is who are you?”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” The man asked. He looked around to see if anyone else had noticed what was going on and if they would offer him a clue as to why this stranger had sat down across from him. None volunteered.

“What I mean is, who the hell are you to be saying the kind of nonsense you’ve been forcing onto this young lady here.” Carter gestured to the woman next to him. It was then that Lee noticed how uncomfortable she looked, and shrunk back slightly when the man sitting across from her turned to her sharply.

Lee felt his eyebrows rise in surprise. So there was something happening. He hated to admit that he felt a bit of relief that Carter hadn’t left him to hit on an unsuspecting woman, but he almost couldn’t suppress a smidgen of guilt that tapped at his chest that he hadn’t given his partner the benefit of the doubt. Or even notice someone was in trouble directly behind him.

“Listen asshole-” The man began, but Carter cut him off after he reached into the pocket of his denim jeans.

“That’s detective asshole to you,” he said and slapped his badge open on the table. The women’s eyes widened in surprise before her shoulders sagged in obvious relief.

Opposite her, Lee watched as the man groaned loudly and ran his hands through his hair, messing up his pomp. “C’mon man,” he muttered and flopped back in his seat. “Oh my God. I was just messing around-”

Carter took his badge back and shoved it into his jacket’s pocket, then held up a hand with a single finger.

“Ah ah. No more talking. You’ve said enough for tonight.”

“What the hell was so wrong-?”

Again, Carter pushed his hand closer to the man, the finger still up, and said, “You want me to remind you what the hell was so wrong? Do you? Alright. I’ll do just that. Because someone somewhere definitely failed to give you a proper education on the very basics of how to act like a decent human being, so allow me to give you a crash course.”

He held out his other hand and tapped the outstretched finger. “First, I overheard some definitely ungentlemanly remarks that I will not repeat verbatim because dude, gross, about you forcing someone to swallow something whether they liked it or not.”

Lee chocked on his coffee. What was unfolding before him was not what he had been expecting. He had not heard any of this commentary, and the man had been sitting right behind him. A small wave of disappointment in himself spread through him, along with a grudging admiration for Carter for noticing this going down while he had been so focused on the Santiago case.

Carter tapped a second finger and continued on. “You made some remarks about this young lady’s race, and, I quote “black girls always give it up so easily”. I ought to let her slap you stupid for that remark.”  

Lee glanced at the woman who looked mortified, like she wanted to crawl under the table and never come out again.

“And I distinctly, distinctly mind you, overheard you mention to this young lady here that she shouldn’t try to leave without telling you because you know where she lives since you picked her up. And what was that word you used? Trouble? It was trouble you said? Right man? That she’d be in trouble if she did? Now, lemme help you out here. See, in the very super special cop school that I went to, we’re taught to understand what something called a threat sounds like. And, sorry to tell you dumbass, but that right there tops off as a threat. Which is not a very good thing for you right now.”

“I-”

But, Carter had enough. “Again with the speaking? Boy, don’t.” He sighed and shook his head, his agitation clearly on the rise. He turned to the woman and asked in a calmer tone, “Ma’am. Would you mind telling me your first name?”

She shifted and hesitated a moment, the quietly said, “Clarissa.”

Lee didn’t miss how she hadn’t offered her last name. And how Carter didn’t ask.

Carter held out his hand to her, which she shook slowly. “Alright Clarissa. I’m Detective James Carter with the L.A.P.D. And, please answer me truthfully, if I were to leave this table, would you feel uncomfortable being around this individual alone?”

She cast a nervous glance at the man, then nodded slightly.

“C’mon!” The man exclaimed and threw his arms up again. “Look, man. I was just messing around. I don’t need to take this-” He placed his hands on the table to make a move to rise from his seat, but Carter quickly turned to him and pointed a finger right at his face again.

“Hey! You sit down and do not move until I tell you to. Do not make me explain why it would be a very bad idea for you to not listen to me.” He said all this in a severe and commanding tone Lee had never heard before. “And stop whining a damn child. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

The man opened his mouth once more, but shut it when Carter gave him another warning glare.

Carter put down his hand. “You are going to do two things. One, you are going to give me your ID. Now. Do not fight me on this or I promise you things are going to play out much worse for you.”

The man groaned and then pulled out his wallet. After he fished out his license he tossed it onto the table in front of Carter.

“Don’t even think about putting that away.” Carter nodded towards the black leather wallet in the man’s hands before reading off the card. “Simon. So, Simon. Clarissa here has a coffee that I doubt has been paid for yet, and she sure as hell aint dropping a cent on this disaster you’ve put her through today. This date is officially over, so go on up and pay your bill like the gentleman you proved you don’t have the balls to be.”

He waved a hand towards the front of the diner before he continued. “And, make sure you tip the waitress good. Them having to serve your sorry ass while you sit here spouting of that mess like an idiot is worth a twenty, at least. I’ma check the jar before I leave so it better be there.”

Dismissing him, Carter looked back down at the ID and pulled out his iPhone.

Lee could see Simon’s face was red with embarrassment, and his breathing had become heavy with a ragged rage that matched the tight clench his fingers had balled themselves into. A few moment’s ticked by, but Carter ignored Simon’s misery and the fact that he hadn’t moved yet.

Lee put down his coffee, long forgotten and now most definitely cold, and tensed. This was why he stayed. Simon hadn’t bothered to notice if Carter was alone, and if he decided to let that anger take control and do something stupid, Lee would be there to take him down. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Carter was typing something into his phone, and Clarissa also had her own phone out, typing furiously to someone as well, most likely about her situation. Neither of them were paying Simon attention, and that only pissed him off more.

Just as it seemed like Simon was going to make the situation worse, Carter, still not looking up, waved the license in Simon’s direction and said, “You heard me. Go on. Shoo.”

Simon suddenly banged on the table, the loud noise making Clarissa jump and drop her phone onto the floor. Simon then shoved himself away from the table and stalked towards the front of the diner where the register was.

Lee glanced around to see if anyone had realized what was happening, but besides a few people who regarded Simon warily as he walked by, his anger palpable with every step, no one spared more than a curious glance in their direction.

He shook his head. Americans.

“I’m so sorry.” Lee heard Clarissa begin, and brought his attention back to her booth. Her hands were shaking and voice wobbled as she spoke. “I met him online. A stupid Tinder date. I didn’t think anything like this would happen.”

Carter had his phone out, taking a picture of Simon’s license. When the iPhone’s shutter clicked, he turned towards her and shook his head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. He was way out of line. I’m going to make sure you get home safe okay? You don’t have to worry about him.”

She gasped in a small breath in an attempt to even her out her panicky breathing and whispered, “He wasn’t lying. He knows where I live.”

“And I know now where he lives too.” He held out his phone and showed her the pic he took of Simon’s ID. “And I’ma find out a lot more about him when I hear back from my colleagues at the station I work at. We’ll have a uniform keeping an eye on him for a while, and you too. Just in case. You don’t have to go through the rest of this alone.” Carter reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She gave him a wobbly smile, but it soon faded when she saw Simon heading back to their table.

“I paid. You happy? Can I have my license back now?” He asked with some heat. He didn’t sit back down.

Carter stood and held out the card between two fingers. When Simon went to grab it, Carter pulled his arm back and said, “Not so fast Romeo.”

“Jesus, man. What now?” Simon practically growled.

“What now is I give you your marching orders. I took a pic of your license, so if anything happens to Miss Clarissa here, and I mean if she so much as stubs her toe and I don’t like how it went down, I’m coming straight for you. I don’t care if you, your mamma, or your hometown pastor says you were nowhere near her. I don’t care if your Facebook page is full of you posing with a bunch of creepy ass penguins in Goddamn Antarctica.”

He used the card to tap Simon in the chest, enunciating his last sentence. “I. Am. Coming. For. You.” 

They stared at each other for a hot minute, but when Simon went to grab his license, this time Carter let him.

Simon let out a scoff, as if he had won the battle, then muttered, “Forget this,” and walked away. Carter watched him until the diner’s door jingled then slammed shut behind him.

Clarissa let out a half laugh, half sob and draped her hands over her mouth. “I can’t believe that just happened!” She exclaimed. She ran a hand along the back of her neck and breathed out, “Thank you so much.”

Carter smiled and waved a hand. “Happy to help. No reason you should have to put up with that. We’ll get you out of here soon okay?”

Clarissa nodded and pulled out her phone after it dinged, alerting her to a new text.

Carter let out a long breath before he turned and saw Lee’s eyes leveled straight towards him. “I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye out for Santiago?” He asked, trying to act indifferent to what had just went down.

“I thought that people are normally not supposed to be afraid of penguins,” Lee said in a casual tone, equally trying to mask how impressed he was. “Is this another strange American quirk?”

Carter rolled his eyes to the stained, Styrofoam ceiling. “I ain’t afraid of penguins. Don’t be going around telling people that, man. They’re just creepy. The way they walk and stuff. It don’t look right.”

Carter was luckily saved from more teasing when Didi suddenly walked through the diner’s front door. Lee sat straight up, confused; he wasn’t expecting her. Then he remembered Carter had been texting someone before leaving their booth.

She walked towards them and when she was standing beside Carter, she jerked a thumb towards the front door. “I take it the sullen looking pretty boy pulling an illegal uey out there is the guy you told me about?” She turned to Lee and gave him a quick smile as a hello.

“Yeah,” Carter said and gestured towards Clarissa who was exiting the booth to stand. “Miss Clarissa, this is Detective Diaz. We work together at precinct seven and she is a very good friend of mine.” Didi held up her badge for Clarissa to confirm her identity as Carter continued. “I brought her here to see if you would feel more comfortable with her taking you home.”

“Or, I’ll take you wherever you want,” Didi said with a bright smile to help the shaken girl relax. She held up her car keys and jingled them. “My car has AC and you get first dibs on the radio. Also, I just got Spotify. ”

Clarissa nodded and fiddled nervously with the strap of her purse. “I’d like to go to my mother’s. She lives in Burbank. Is that’s okay?” She looked towards Carter for a confirmation.

He nodded and folded his arms. “That’s fine. We’ll have people on you and Simon so don’t worry about him anymore okay?”

She nodded as Didi stepped back to let her walk in front of her and head towards the door. She gave Carter one last smile, and mouthed thank you to him before walking away.

Didi gave Carter a look Lee couldn’t read, then turned to give Lee a quick wave as she passed. “See you guys later!”

“Later,” Carter said as he slid back into his booth after watching Didi and Clarissa leave. He pulled his phone and began typing and talking at the same time. “Didi called in the request to put a detail on our good friend Simon. I needed to get a female officer here cause of protocol, but Didi won’t mind staying with Clarissa for a while, make sure she’s doing okay before we can get a beat cop on her-what? What are you looking at?” Carter finished his sentence with an annoyed tone and an eyebrow raise at being forced to put down his phone. Lee had remained silent, only staring at his partner with an unrecognizable expression.

“That was smart, bringing Didi in. She is good at taking care of people in these situations,” Lee commented, since he knew he was making Carter uncomfortable. Not that he minded, he actually found it a bit amusing that Carter, often so desperate for praise, was thrown off kilter when there was a possibility it could be directed from his partner.

“Yeah,” Carter said hesitantly, like he was afraid Lee was about to compliment him or something, and that would make the whole situation even more uncomfortable. “She’ll be alright.”

A part of Lee wanted to ask Carter why he didn’t ask Lee to help. He thought he might know the answer, but decided it would be crossing their personal boundaries further than they were ready for.

Instead, Lee watched as Carter sighed and slid back in his seat. The encounter seemed to have exhausted him, but once more he looked at the Jewelry store across the street and seemed ready to continue their original plan, despite the store still being dark. Still being empty.

Lee followed his gaze before settling it back onto his partner. “You want to go?”

Carter gave Lee a suspicious look. “You mean we’re not going to sit here until the sun collapses on itself for a lead that ain’t going to pan out?”

“No,” Lee said, giving in. “We should go get a beer somewhere.”

Carter’s mouth feel open and his eyes widened a bit in shock. “Hold up. Did you just say we should get a beer? You? Mister won’t give up till the criminal gives in? And I don’t have to beg, bribe or trick you into doing it?”

Lee shrugged and pulled out his wallet to take out three twenties, enough to cover their surplus of coffees and to leave a decent tip for commandeering the diner’s table all afternoon. “You were right. Let’s go.”

He slid out of the booth, internally moaning a bit a being so stiff from sitting all day. He straightened his jacket and began heading towards the door, then stopped when he heard Carter ungracefully stumble out of the booth behind him.

“Woah! Woah. Wait a minute. Did you just say I was right? Um. You feeling okay there, Lee? Beer and admitting you were wrong? Did the waitress put something in your drink or something?”

Lee huffed out a small laugh and just kept walking towards the door. He gave the waitress behind the front register a small wave to let her know the table was open, then pushed the glass door to the diner aside to let Carter step out into the dry afternoon air first.

The bells above the door jingled and Carter eyed him warily as he walked past, then pulled out his car keys with trepidation.

“You’re not messing with me, man. Right? When you say beer, you mean like, alcohol. You’re not going to take me to somewhere hinky and I’ll end up drinking snake juice or something?”

“What is snake juice?” Lee asked as he opened the passenger door to the Chevelle. “And no, to whatever that is. You decide where we go.”

“Wha-wait. What? You mean you’re actually trusting me to pick a place for us to go?”

“Reluctantly,” Lee admitted when he sat. “But, yes.”

Carter opened his mouth to reply, confusion still very evident all over his face. It took a moment, but after he paused curiously when Lee held his gaze for a moment, his mouth slowly began to close as realization finally hit him. In Carter’s eyes, Lee could see some of the pieces falling into place: why Lee was suddenly acting the way he was. Why he was giving these hard won inches to Carter. And why Carter deserved them, however grudgingly, along with his growing newfound respect.

Reflectively, Lee also now knew he had so much more to learn about his partner, and how he was actually more invested, more able than he first realized to be the cop he was capable of being.

After a few moments of silence, Carter suddenly turned towards the front of the car and grabbed his sunglasses, sliding them on before he turned the ignition.

“Well,” he began, no traces of the silent communication and understanding that had passed between them noticeable in his voice. “’bout time. I’ve got great taste in watering holes. It’s Gerald who always takes us to the crappiest places in town. Can’t go to the nice ones cause he always owes someone money there.”

“Gerald is not here,” Lee said with an all too casual shrug and grabbed his own sunglasses as Carter pulled away from the curb. “Your choice.”

A slow, sneaky smile suddenly spread across Carter’s face. An act Lee did not miss.

“Please do not make me regret this,” Lee asked, his voice just edging on begging. “I have one request.”

“Name it,” Carter said.

“No strippers.”

Without missing a beat Carter pulled a fast U-turn in the middle of the road. Unsurprised, Lee held on tight until the screeching of tires and honking of horns ended and they were now driving opposite the way they were originally going.

When they were straightened out, Lee gave Carter a look.

“What?” Carter asked when he saw Lee looking at him. He shifted slightly and fixed his rearview mirror before he returned his gaze to the road. “I missed our turn is all.”

Lee raised his eyes to the heavens for probably the hundredth time that day, then turned on the radio to let Jay-Z’s latest chart topper be his answer. While the heavy beat enveloped them as densely as the L.A. sun setting slowly behind them, Lee considered his partner once more.

There were a thousand other cops he could have become paired up with when he first arrived on the west coast. A thousand worst cops than James Carter, a thousand better ones too. But, all things considered, and, despite his initial misgivings, maybe Carter was the kind of partner he needed. After what had transpired that afternoon, Lee would be lying if he said that he wasn’t interested in learning more about a detective who was just as ready to help someone in need with guns ablazing as he was to make sure a scared woman could sleep sounder at night. He wasn’t used to seeing either in a partner, or in a person in general.

And, maybe because had been so entirely wrapped up in finding his sister, he realized he needed to see more of that in himself.

Lee settled into the car seat and resigned himself to allow Carter to lead him wherever the night took him. He gave his partner a sideways glance, watching him bop his head gently along with the music as he drove casually along the streets he knew as well as curves of blue and gold spelling out his badge numbers. Right there he decided, for once, to try something he hadn’t done in a long time.

He decided to trust.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
